Senate Appropriations Committee Approves Full Funding for the Prison Rape Elimination Act
- June 14, 2018
Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., June 14, 2018 — JDI applauds Chairman Jerry Moran (R-KS), Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and the Senate Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee for including $15.5 million in its appropriations bill for the implementation of the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). Today’s bill, which would apply to the upcoming fiscal year (FY 2019), marks the first time ever that the Subcommittee has included PREA funding in its annual spending proposal.
“The Senate CJS Subcommittee is sending an important message that sexual abuse in detention is a nationwide crisis that must be dealt with urgently,” said Lovisa Stannow, Executive Director of Just Detention International. “The PREA standards are a tried and tested tool for making detention facilities safer. Today’s funding proposal by the Senate brings us closer to achieving PREA’s goal: ensuring the safety and dignity of all people behind bars.”
The CJS Subcommittee’s spending proposal on PREA matches the record amount enacted in the FY 2018 omnibus spending package. It also equals what the House CJS Subcommittee included in its spending bill for FY 2019.
“The fight to stop prisoner rape has always drawn on support from officials on both sides of the aisle,” said Stannow. “The leadership shown by the Subcommittee will help spare countless people from the life-shattering experience of rape behind bars, and its members deserve our recognition and gratitude. ”
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Just Detention International is a health and human rights organization that seeks to end sexual abuse in all forms of detention.